Wait - Novastar? What happened to NOVA? It certainly sounds like a related entity. The letter's not the same, and the way it's worded you are pretty sure that the writer is not a native english speaker (it helps that English is not your first language).

This assignment, apparently, will be more or less permanent (looks like you got drafted, mate), and you have been relocated to Vladivostok, Primorsky, Russia.

Russia is so annoyingly big that it's hard to determine locations for places, and you really don't know your geography too well. You could be on the coast, or you could be in the middle of the country. You really do not know.

Your duties, though are outlined.

Site Duty - Mechanic, Excavation
Compound Duty - Mechanic, R&D

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Our son won't stop doing math, honey!

Not in my house mister!!! You can differentiate all you want with your little hoodlum friends, but in here it's wild guesses and rounding errors!

"Well have a little problem with that we can't be too far apart. The reasoning might sound strange but maybe not; we have something left over from the NOVA project that was insurance that we wouldn't run from the place that we were at. In essence we can't be farther than 40 yards or we will start feeling the effects and any farther well it could be bad for the both of us. I am guessing they would know about it though Svetlana and that your patrol won't be too far from the R&D, but then again you never know. Wish they were abit more detailed with where we are going."

I take a huge breath after saying all of that...

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The day is mine...and dusk...dinner too... and the night...but you can have the dawn...BUT, the day is mine!

Nova? Just Nova? No idea what that might be, 'less yer talking about Novastar in shorthand... Patrol means gettin' in one of my vehicles and heading out off the compound - way farther than 40 yards. Might want to talk 'bout that with Dr. Pietrov.

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Our son won't stop doing math, honey!

Not in my house mister!!! You can differentiate all you want with your little hoodlum friends, but in here it's wild guesses and rounding errors!

"We might want to do that now before you have to go on patrol Svetlana unless we want an unspeakable to happen... and the bad thing is I can't remove them they arn't a type of metal most likely they are just straight carbon and I can't pull out material just yet.

And yes just Nova Martha it is a bad thing and I don't know if we should be talking about it in here maybe in private but definitely not in a public place. I could tell you later if you really want to know about what is going on.

But yea Svetlana we really need to find someone before you go on patrol."

I have a serious look and I'm looking around to make sure no one is listening in or trying to be subtle about listening.

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The day is mine...and dusk...dinner too... and the night...but you can have the dawn...BUT, the day is mine!

"Yes they did say something to that effect though I have not tried to test to see if it is true or not. But supposedly we aren't able to go beyond 40 yards with out some sort of repercussion. Unless somehow the virus or what ever it is has been destroyed we are in a slight pickle."

I look to Svetlana with a half smile, half this might not be good smile. Then I give a glance toward Martha then back to the Doc.

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The day is mine...and dusk...dinner too... and the night...but you can have the dawn...BUT, the day is mine!

You are late for patrol. Be a good devochkaand meet up with Miss Smythe and Mr. Davidovich. They'll get your gear.

He looks back toward you, Ben, but not before glancing at Martha and giving her a tiny little smirk -

And you sir, you're needed in the shop! Martha, I understand that the commons are a comfortable spot for orientation, but surely your new mechanic will need to see his tools, yes? Off with you both, now go. And no more talk of nano-viruses and other insidious plots to keep you cowed. My goodness and the very thought.

He turns on a heel without even the thought of someone wanting to discuss the issue with him.

Martha looks toward Svetlana, then to you -

So... he thinks it's all gash, then. All right, come on you. Let's head to the ol' Shop, if'n yer head doesn't explode, right?

Svetlana, for her part, stands, but uneasily, and gives you a worried look before heading off. She glances back just before she heads through the door, pulling her hood over her head.

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Our son won't stop doing math, honey!

Not in my house mister!!! You can differentiate all you want with your little hoodlum friends, but in here it's wild guesses and rounding errors!

She gives you a nice wink just before she gets ready to head out. You both move to a rather large building, with large bay doors, four of them. You enter in through a small side door.

So, the Shop is pretty nice, all things considered. It's a fully stocked auto shop, with two hydraulic lifts, an expensive assortment of power tools, as well as a wall covered with hand tools. It looks like you could fix, or build, pretty much anything that could fit through the bay doors, which could include a fair-sized plane.

Y'lookin' pretty good fer a dead guy walkin', don'tcha think? Now, to it - there's a rover comin' in with a blown axle. That's you, got it? I'm rebuildin' this engine. You can come on with that once the axle's done. After lunch we'll head to the site, okay? Look around an' get cozy. You've got about 10 minutes.

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Our son won't stop doing math, honey!

Not in my house mister!!! You can differentiate all you want with your little hoodlum friends, but in here it's wild guesses and rounding errors!

"Not too bad yourself for a monkey without a tail" I smile, "I'll stop with the monkey jokes I'm done now."

I look around the shop and wonder somewhat about if they removed the viruses or if it never existed.

"I've fixed axles in my sleep, and engines are not problem as well this shouldn't be too hard; especially since I don't have to make my tools or parts since it looks light everything I will ever need is in this building."

I turn in a circle as I talk my eyes looking at all the tools then when I get around to her I stop on her and smile once more. For the remainder of my time until the rover arrives I'll gather some of the tools that I know I will need such as jacks, axle puller, and the parts that I'll need for the repair I want tot try and finish it as quick as I can while still doing a good job.

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The day is mine...and dusk...dinner too... and the night...but you can have the dawn...BUT, the day is mine!

You can tell that she is watching you, and she smiles as she sees you on top of your game. The rover (take an old Hummer - the HUMV military vehicle, give it 6 wheels instead of 4, and give it a bigger payload) comes in with a blast of frigid air (even with a blower trying to keep it out), clearly limping. The center axle is out of commission, though, as a testament to the vehicle, it managed to make it back here without a tow.

When you started digging for parts, you noted that there was basically a small warehouse of parts in a second (much colder) area of the shop. There are enough parts here to build four rovers from scratch, and still have leftovers for what clearly are common problems (such as your axle). You'll note some unusual hardware in here, as well - vehicle mounts, armor plate, no weapons per se, but certainly whatever you'd need to mount, from an light machine gun to anti-aircraft, to one of those rovers, or another vehicle.

You lift the rover up and take a look. The axle is bent bad in one spot, which led to some shearing close to the wheel. It's in bad shape. It will completely break if it's still used, even if you can get it straightened out. The good news is that you don't have to fix it. You can replace it.

It's slower going than you would hope, seeing as you are by yourself, but the tools help alot. You pull it out and and get the replacement in with relatively little trouble. The real trick is dealing with the suspension, as you're unfamiliar with this particular type. It doesn't take too long, though, and it's finished. You lower the rover, and give it a quick test. Good job!

Do you go ahead and help out Martha, or do something else?

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Our son won't stop doing math, honey!

Not in my house mister!!! You can differentiate all you want with your little hoodlum friends, but in here it's wild guesses and rounding errors!